AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics Comparison

The Verdict

The data separates these two clearly. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is the compute-heavy professional card, built for sustained workloads where raw throughput matters. The Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics is a low-power integrated solution, suited only for light duties. If you need to run OpenCL workloads, and the database shows the W5500 leads by a massive margin, there is no contest: the W5500 wins every measured benchmark. The Intel part, however, consumes only 25 W versus 125 W, making it the only sensible choice for systems with strict power limits or no room for a discrete card. The W5500 is end-of-life, as is the Intel part, but the AMD card still offers far higher absolute performance in every recorded test. Pick the W5500 for real work, pick the Iris Xe MAX only when the alternative is no GPU acceleration at all.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 uses the Navi 14 chip built on TSMC's 7 nm process, with RDNA 1.0 architecture. It packs 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 40.5 million per square millimeter. The Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics uses the DG1 chip on Intel's 10 nm process, with Generation 12.1 architecture (Xe Graphics). Its die size is 95 mm², and the database lists no transistor count or density for it. The AMD chip is physically larger and denser, which correlates with its higher performance.

Memory configurations differ sharply. The W5500 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel part has 4 GB of LPDDR4X, also on a 128-bit bus, but only reaches 68.26 GB/s. That is a 3.3x bandwidth gap, and it shows up in compute results. Clock behavior also diverges: the W5500 runs at a 1744 MHz base and 1855 MHz boost, while the Intel chip idles at 300 MHz base and boosts to 1650 MHz. The AMD card's memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), versus 2133 MHz (4.3 Gbps effective) for Intel. The W5500 is a single-slot card with a 6-pin power connector and a 300 W suggested PSU; the Intel part is an IGP with no power connector and a 200 W suggested PSU. The W5500 has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the Intel chip has no outputs at all, meaning it relies on motherboard video out. Both support PCIe 4.0 x8, DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 45,615, while the Intel Iris Xe MAX scores 14,315. That is a delta of 218.7%, meaning the W5500 is more than three times faster in raw OpenCL compute. This is the headline result. The AMD card also has other benchmark scores in the record that the Intel part does not: Geekbench Metal at 54,302, Geekbench Vulkan at 42,021, Passmark G3D at 8,978, Passmark G2D at 806, Passmark GPU Compute at 4,804, and various DirectX scores (47 in DX10, 56 in DX11, 39 in DX12, 126 in DX9). The Intel part has no recorded scores for any of those tests, so the comparison is limited to OpenCL. But the OpenCL gap is so large that it defines the relationship: the W5500 is the compute winner without qualification.

The average benchmark score reinforces this. The W5500 averages 15,679 across all recorded tests, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The Intel part averages 14,315, in the 56th percentile. The W5500's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (avg 15,548, delta 0.8%) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (avg 15,852, delta -1.1%), meaning the W5500 sits in a performance class near those cards. The Intel part's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (avg 14,352, delta -0.3%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (avg 14,277, delta 0.3%), showing it trades blows with much older or lower-tier hardware. In practical terms, the W5500 is a discrete workstation GPU that can handle serious compute; the Intel part is an integrated chip that barely keeps pace with entry-level discrete GPUs from years prior.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 45,615 versus 14,315 for the Intel Iris Xe MAX, a 218.7% lead.

Q: How much memory does each GPU have?

A: The W5500 has 8 GB of GDDR6 with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Intel Iris Xe MAX has 4 GB of LPDDR4X with 68.26 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The W5500 has a TDP of 125 W and requires a 6-pin power connector. The Intel Iris Xe MAX has a TDP of 25 W and needs no power connector.

Q: Can the Intel Iris Xe MAX drive displays?

A: The database lists "No outputs" for the Intel part. The W5500 has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Q: Which GPU has a better average benchmark score?

A: The W5500 averages 15,679 across its recorded tests, versus 14,315 for the Intel part. The W5500 also sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, while the Intel part sits in the 56th.

Q: Are either of these GPUs still in production?

A: Both are marked end-of-life. The W5500 was released earlier, on 2020-02-09, while the Intel Iris Xe MAX launched 2020-10-30.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 wins in every measured benchmark category. It has higher raw compute, higher memory bandwidth, and more shading units (1,408 versus 768), more TMUs (88 versus 48), and more ROPs (32 versus 24). Its pixel rate is 59.36 GPixel/s versus 39.60 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 163.2 GTexel/s versus 79.20 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 5.224 TFLOPS versus 2.534 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 10.45 TFLOPS versus 5.069 TFLOPS. The W5500 is the clear choice for any workload that stresses compute, such as rendering, simulation, or machine learning inference. It also has four display outputs, making it suitable for multi-monitor professional setups.

The Intel Iris Xe MAX wins only in power efficiency and physical footprint. At 25 W, it consumes one-fifth the power of the W5500, and as an IGP it needs no slot, no power cable, and no extra cooling. It is the right pick for a thin-and-light laptop or a low-power embedded system where a discrete GPU cannot fit. Its benchmark scores, however, show it is not a performance part: its nearest rivals are integrated Vega 11 graphics and older GTX-class cards. In any scenario where performance matters more than power draw, the W5500 dominates. The Intel part's only realistic advantage is that it exists in a platform that cannot accept a discrete card.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences are as follows. Process node: 7 nm (TSMC) for the W5500, 10 nm (Intel) for the Iris Xe MAX. Die size: 158 mm² versus 95 mm². Transistor count: 6,400 million for AMD, not listed for Intel. Memory: 8 GB GDDR6 versus 4 GB LPDDR4X. Memory bandwidth: 224.0 GB/s versus 68.26 GB/s. Base clock: 1744 MHz versus 300 MHz. Boost clock: 1855 MHz versus 1650 MHz. Memory clock: 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) versus 2133 MHz (4.3 Gbps effective). Shading units: 1,408 versus 768. TMUs: 88 versus 48. ROPs: 32 versus 24. Pixel rate: 59.36 GPixel/s versus 39.60 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 163.2 GTexel/s versus 79.20 GTexel/s. FP32: 5.224 TFLOPS versus 2.534 TFLOPS. FP16: 10.45 TFLOPS versus 5.069 TFLOPS. TDP: 125 W versus 25 W. Slot width: single-slot versus IGP. Power connectors: 1x 6-pin versus none. Suggested PSU: 300 W versus 200 W. Display outputs: 4x DisplayPort 1.4a versus none. Dimensions: the W5500 is 241 mm long and 111 mm tall; the Intel part has no listed dimensions. Release date: 2020-02-09 versus 2020-10-30. The W5500 has a launch MSRP of 399 USD; the Intel part has no listed launch MSRP. Both are end-of-life, both use PCIe 4.0 x8, and both support the same DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan versions.